Award-winning Portuguese fado singers Marco Oliveira and Tânia Oleiro make their Boston-area debuts on Saturday, November 3 at 8pm at Wiggin Auditorium, Peabody City Hall, in Peabody, MA. Both singers are touring the U.S. in support of their latest CD releases.

Fado, Portugal's best-known but ever-mysterious music, explores love and loss, belonging and isolation, joy and pain through a music designated as world cultural patrimony by UNESCO. Marco Oliveira's two critically acclaimed records, "Retrato" and "Amor é Água que Corre", chart fado's topography in the modern world, with tales of longing (Portuguese "saudade") that unwind through the labyrinth of Lisbon's darkened streets. Tânia Oleiro's debut record, "Terços do Fado", reaches into fado's past by drawing on some of its most traditional musical compositions, while looking into the future via lyrics by some of fado's best contemporary writers. The singers will be joined by Sandro Costa on the Portuguese guitar (with accompaniment by Oliveira on the classical guitar). Costa is known as a master improviser and provocateur who has honed his craft through countless performances in Lisbon's most traditional taverns, as well as on national and international stages.

The venue for the concert is Peabody City Hall's Wiggin Auditorium. A recent historically-sensitive restoration has returned the hall to its former glory, with beautifully appointed architectural touches (and a modern audio-visual system) that complement the hall's already excellent acoustics. The venue is conveniently located with ample free parking.

​Fado is backUMass Lowell Saab Center for Portuguese Studies in partnership withPACE (Portuguese/American Cultural Exchange) Sounds of PortugalA Concert byJoana Amendoeira and DuarteDurgin Concert Hall35 Wilder St, Lowell, MA 01854Friday, November 3, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.​Joana is one of the best-known fadistas today, with nine highly acclaimed CDs and critical recognition from the Amália Foundation, among others. This will be her first official US visit.Duarte is a singer, musician and lyricist, who was recently featured on Public Radio International. He returns to UMass Lowell after a great performance in 2014.Joana and Duarte will be accompanied by two top-flight musicians:Pedro Amendoeira on the Portuguese guitar and Tiago Silva on the viola.Both are veterans of the fado, having played extensively within Portugal and internationally with artists such as Mariza, Maria da Fé and Camané.You may purchase tickets at www.alumni.uml.edu/fadoFor questions, contact the Saab Center at 978-934-5199

Ana Laíns is one of the brightest stars in Portugal’s centuries-old tradition of fado singing. She brings a bell-like clarity to this genre of minor-key laments about the hardships of life at sea, the pressures of urban poverty, and, above all, the heartbreak of romance. Like all the legendary fadistas (female fado singers), Lains aims for the experience of saudade, the feeling that one has been overcome by fate and carried away like a stick caught in the water’s current.

Often described as the soul of the Portuguese people, fado is arguably the world’s oldest urban folk music, having emerged from the bustling cafes and side streets of old Lisbon in the early 19th century. A true fadista embodies the soulfulness of this musical tradition, delivering lyrics with barely controlled raw emotion.

“People think of it as a sad music, full of sentiment, sang by nostalgic women,” Laíns says. “And that is true, but there is more to it than that. It was first sung by sailors and other men in the 19th century. Most of the times, traditional fado has no melody, and it is part of a good fado singer’s job, to improvise and create his or her own style.”

Laíns grew up in the rural Portuguese region of Ribatejo, but at the age of 19 she moved to Lisbon to become a professional singer. There she honed her skills in the traditional fado houses—small, darkened taverns where locals listen to fado over wine. She had her breakthrough when she won Lisbon’s “Grande Noite de Fado” (“Grand Night of the Fado”), the country’s top fado competition. This led to her 2006 debut album, Sentidos, which expanded the scope of fado to include international influences.

“Fado—like jazz, flamenco or tango—cannot stand still, because time doesn’t stop,” Laíns explains. “I want to keep … singing in my language of Portuguese, because I feel blessed to have been born in such an amazing country.”

The festival performances of Ana Lains are presented in collaboration with the Saab Family and the Portuguese / American Cultural Exchange.

​Fado, the soul of Portugal, comes to the US!Fado is a form of Portuguese urban folk music that grew out of the streets and taverns of Lisbon in the 19th Century. It is characterized by mournful melodies and lyrics, often about the sea, neighborhoods, or the life of the poor. Known for its dramatic performance practices and passionate aficionados, Fado is infused with sentiments of resignation, nostalgia and deep melancholy. For almost two hundred years, it has represented the saudade, the longing of the people of Portugal - the sailor returning from the colonies, the impoverished flower girl in the mercado, the wealthy Lord in love with an untamable gypsy fadista. Fado means fate, and to the people of Portugal, the music is as powerful as destiny itself.